We have to plan for Rooney not being available, warns Neville

Sunday 21 May 2006 20.55 EDT
First published on Sunday 21 May 2006 20.55 EDT

Wayne Rooney's growing optimism that he will be fit for the World Cup is not matched elsewhere at Manchester United, with the club sending a message to Sven-Goran Eriksson over the weekend that they remain sceptical about him playing any part until the quarter-finals at the earliest. He has made progress but United are bemused by reports that he may play in the opening group match against Paraguay on June 10 and Gary Neville, his colleague for club and country, said last night that it was time England planned for being without him.

Neville, who has experienced what it is like to miss a World Cup through a broken metatarsal, was certainly not talking as though he had inside knowledge from Old Trafford that Rooney had been touched by the "miracle" that Eriksson had thought was needed.

"It would be great if we get Wayne back at some point but let's not overlook he's got to come back from a broken bone in his foot," said Neville. "We shouldn't underestimate that. He has a broken bone in his body and it has to heal. It's not like he's broken a fingernail.

"I know United's medical staff are doing everything they can but, as it stands, we have to plan for Wayne not being available. He's not with us at the moment and we're certainly going to be playing the warm-up games without him."

Neville needed 21 weeks to recover from a similar injury and, clearly doubtful about Rooney's chances, he is anxious to get the message across that England have enough footballers of sufficient quality to keep despondency at bay.

"Every team in the tournament will suffer an injury or a suspension and you just have to cope with those things when they happen. Brazil, in the last World Cup, had Ronaldinho missing for the semi-final and you would have thought it would be a great handicap but it didn't stop them.

"Wayne's a big loss, but not a terminal loss to the point where we may as well not turn up thinking we can win it. He's an outstanding player and every team is going to miss a player of that quality, but we also have Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard, David Beckham, Joe Cole, Aaron Lennon, Michael Owen and others who can deliver. If Rooney hadn't come along we would still be talking about this squad as potential World Cup winners.

"The players would certainly never say we're a one-man team. When you're in a squad situation you never think 'We all depend on him or him'. You realise there are great players and you know who they are, but you never think of them as being the be-all or end-all. There will always be a player picked out as a star in any team but the press does that, not the players."

More will be clear when Rooney has his second hospital scan on Thursday. Sir Alex Ferguson, the United manager, has described it as "folly" to expect him to be available but Neville is angered by suggestions that the club are deliberately holding his team-mate back.

"There has been talk that United don't want him fit for England but that is absolute rubbish. They are a fair club and they look after their players. They know his ambitions and they'll make sure he has the best possible chance. If he's fit and ready to play for England it will be fantastic. On the other hand, if he's not fit he won't go because United won't let him, and rightly so."

I would have played Walcott, says Mourinho

Jose Mourinho says Theo Walcott would have gone to the World Cup this summer with first-team experience had he signed for Chelsea instead of Arsenal. The 17-year-old, who was a surprise inclusion in Sven-Goran Eriksson's England squad for the finals, chose Arsenal ahead of Chelsea when he left Southampton for £5m in January.

Mourinho, speaking at the launch of Sky One's Football Icon 2 programme, said: "At Arsenal Walcott has played zero minutes but at Chelsea he would have played against Blackburn and Newcastle. I would have played him against those teams like I did with Lassana Diarra. That is for sure."

Mourinho also believes Shaun Wright-Phillips will blossom at Stamford Bridge despite an indifferent first season at the club and being left out of Eriksson's World Cup squad.

The Chelsea manager said: "I believe he will establish himself here but it is more important what he believes. I am never surprised with other managers' options. They can think the same about me.

"This is a country with a lot of players and a lot of options, so I am never surprised. Eriksson has made his choice and he is responsible for that. At the end of the World Cup if things go well he is a hero and he will get the good or the bad consequences of his choices and I am nobody to be critical."